


Play Pretend

by proffescrxavicr



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, big big fluff, its very cute, pls I rlly love it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:27:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29573868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/proffescrxavicr/pseuds/proffescrxavicr
Summary: Play Pretend, Steve Rogers. Based off of the prompt “Go on then, tell me you don’t love me”.Summary: In which you had been hiding your feelings for a super soldier for quite a while, and he was getting tired of waiting to hear you say you liked him.Set During: AUWord Count: 1813 words
Relationships: Steve Rogers x Reader, Steve Rogers/Reader
Kudos: 45





	Play Pretend

“Morning everyone,” You came into the compounds kitchen with a smile, taking a seat on one of the breakfast bars stools. Steve placed a cup of coffee in front of you, smiling back. That was his way of greeting you in the morning. And every time you looked back up to him with a shy smile, a warmth spreading across the apples of your cheeks. 

“Morning Y/n,” Tony took a sip of his coffee, taking a glance between both you and Steve.

“Morning Tony,” a smile rested on your lips, taking a sip of the coffee Steve had given you. “How’s the suit redesigning going?”

“It’s tedious,” Tony smiled. “But it’s coming along pretty well. How’s working in the lab with Banner?”

“We’re working on this really cool biochemical theory right now, I’m interested in seeing how it’s going to play out but I have a good feeling about it! Otherwise it’s just a lot of paperwork and making sure all of the files are in their correct places. Which reminds me,” you pointed at Steve, “it’s about time for your bloodwork again.”

“Again?” Steve let his head fall back, the mug of coffee he had been carrying up to his lips long forgotten.

“Well, we have to make sure you’re well, Cap,” you laughed lightly, sipping on the coffee. See you had only joined the Avengers at first because of your background in medicine, but then you kind of accidentally showed them that you have powers that allow you to either kill or regenerate cells in an instant. You kind of, maybe, became a full member after that. But when it came down to the basic lab work and doctorly things, you were always happy to do them. You loved everything around that type of work. Getting to draw blood and analyze it, trying to see if anything had changed. It was like a mystery waiting to be solved and you loved that. 

“She’s right icicle,” Tony quipped. “Can’t have you dying on us Cap. Especially Y/n here.”

You felt your cheeks go warm when Tony nudged your shoulder, your eyes rolling as a laugh fell from Steve’s lips. See, it would have been funnier if Tony wasn't telling the truth. Steve had become such a big person in your life, you had almost no idea what you would do if he left. A part of your heart was owned by him and he didn't even know that. “Geez,” you muttered, “thanks Tony.”

“Anytime,” Tony winked back in response. “I’ll be in the lab, you two don’t mess up my kitchen, okay?”

“Tony!” Your cheeks flushed, giving the billionaire wide eyes before he walked out of the room with a smirk rested on his lips. A huff pushed past your lips as you turned towards Steve, trying to reconcile the situation. “I’ll uh, I’ll be down in my lab if you need me at all. We can do the bloodwork tomorrow.”

“Yeah, okay,” Steve nodded, setting his mug down onto the counter as you got up to walk away. You pulled your hand up to your lips, nervously biting at your fingernail. The thought of Steve knowing — of Steve finding out how you feel freaked you out. Now, listen, you had a lot of things going for you but subtlety was not one of them. But Steve had never said anything and that was enough to calm your nerves. You didn’t want to lose him — you couldn’t afford to lose him. That’s why you had never told him how you felt. You had gotten so used to playing pretend, part of you began to believe you enjoyed it. That hiding a secret was fun to you. 

Settling into your lab, you let out a short sigh. Your lab was a place you were never afraid to be in, pulling off your coat and placing your hair into a ponytail effectively pulling it from falling in front of your face. A smile rested on your lips, a pen tapping on the papers you had just began to fill out. Your favorite song played lightly in the background, only adding to the smile on your face. Mumbling the lyrics to the song, head nodding along, you continued to analyze your past labs and samples while taking notes. This was the place that you had all of the control, something you couldn’t quite say you had in the normal day-to-day life as an Avenger. So many things were left in the air; how would a mission end, would you end up having to heal people that had become your family or would you end up using your powers to harm people in ways you tried not to think about?

But when it was just you, in your lab, you knew how things would go. You knew the songs that would play and you could almost guess how the labs would come back. Out in the field, you were working on pure adrenaline, in your lab, you were working on caffeine and intelligence. You got to sit back and think about things, not having to worry about the time it would take or what could be lurking around the corner. Your friends had noticed it as well, Natasha and Wanda loved to sit in the lab with you. Something along the lines of you having better conversations when you were in the lab. Every now and then, one of the Avengers would come running in with a small cut they got during training (or even in Bucky’s case, the one time he was trying to cut an onion and cut his hand, you didn’t ask any questions as to how a former assassin cut himself with a knife) asking you to heal it. And you would do it with no questions asked. 

That’s the exact reason as to why you rolled your eyes at the knock on the doorframe of the lab, looking over to see who it was standing there. Steve smiled over to you, raising an eyebrow as a way to ask if it was okay to come inside with you. You nodded, putting your pen down when he closed the door behind him. “Everything okay Steve?”

“Hmmm?” He looked over to you, rubbing his hands together. “Oh, yeah, everything’s okay. I just figured that you could take the blood sample today? I have training tomorrow for most of the day.”

“Of course,” you smiled, standing up to grab what you needed to draw his blood. “Have anything you want to talk about? Most of the team uses this time to ramble on about their issues.”

“That’s got to be a lot to deal with,” Steve’s brows furrowed together. 

You waved him off, “I enjoy it. Everyone needs a person to vent to, might as well use this time to ramble on about something, you know? It’s nothing we haven’t heard before or expected, either. A lot of the times they’l rant about the missions and things that went wrong. Bucky will complain about something Sam did or vice versa, it’s great when they’re both in here at the same time.” The words continued to run from your lips as you grabbed the supplies you needed. Steve’s laughter filled the silence once you stopped rambling. 

“What about you, doll? Do you take this time to rant about anything?”

“I’m more of a listener,” you shrugged. 

“So am I,” Steve raised a brow. “I’m not backing down from my spot either, so it looks like you’re just going to have to talk.”

Eyes rolling, you began to draw Steve’s blood. “What is it you want to hear about?”

“Anything,” Steve looked like he had a quick thought before a mischievous smile made its way to his face, “your love life maybe? Out of everyone on the team, you always keep quiet when people talk about their escapades.”

“If I’m remembering correctly, so did you,” you promptly added in.

“We’re not talking about me,” Steve muttered, pink dusted across his cheeks. “But for your information, I’m not seeing anyone.”

“I’m not either,” you felt your cheeks warm up. “Yeah, that’s about it for my love life there Steve. Nothing too fun.”

His hand went up to brush against your cheek, “You know, Tony’s comment earlier had me thinking.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“Are you in love with me?” Steve’s question caught you off guard, making you stand still in the middle of the room. A small vile of his blood rested in your hand, that was the only reason you kept a grip on the situation. Putting the vile down on the counter next to you, you turned back to look at Steve with wide eyes. His lips had been pushed upwards into a smile, “Go on then, tell me you don’t love me.”

Those words came out just as you opened your mouth, about to say something about how you weren’t in love with him. It closed wordlessly, your tongue resting between your teeth, blinking a few times. To be completely fair, you were normally much more relaxed in your lab. You figured that’s why Steve brought it up while he was in there. But you couldn't help your heart that quickly began to beat, the sound ringing in your ears as fear took over your sense. No matter what you said in that moment, your little charade was up. You couldn’t hide behind a mask of not being in love with Steve Rogers. Not when he knew. You could tell. The smile on his face, the look in his eyes. There was no escaping it. 

“God I hate Tony.”

“I don’t,” Steve muttered. “I wouldn’t have figured it out if it wasn’t for him. And it makes it a bit easier when you realize the girl you have feelings for, feels the same way about you.”

You blinked a few times, did he just say what you thought he did? “So, you mean, I’m confused.”

“I love you,” Steve placed a gentle hand on your cheek, placing a kiss on the top of your head. “Always have, Doll.”

“I,” you muttered, “I love you too.” He pulled his lips off of your forehead, your head leaning onto the hand he had pressed against your cheek. You glanced down to his lips and back up to his gaze. 

“Y/n,” you nodded in response to him calling out your name. “Can I kiss you?”

“Yeah,” a smile formed on your face as he pulled your face closer to his. Your lips melded together, it was full of longing. The two of you had been so in love with each other, yet never acting on it. In that moment, you felt it all hit you. All at once. 

Maybe playing pretend was a stupid move after all. Sometimes, you just have to trust that leap of faith.


End file.
